


there's no room (for error)

by Frostwells



Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Slow Burn, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-13
Updated: 2018-04-13
Packaged: 2019-04-22 05:04:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14301399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frostwells/pseuds/Frostwells
Summary: Trapped in a timeline where she must hide her true identity from Rittenhouse, Lucy runs into a familiar face, except he doesn't seem familiar at all.





	there's no room (for error)

One might call it paranoia but it was an instinct that had saved her life countless times.

That ceaseless habit of peering over her shoulders to make sure no one was tailing her. That constant fear that someone might be tracking and logging her every move. The heavy feeling in her chest laced with anxiety deep in the pit of her stomach.

It had been ten years since she ran away from Mason Industries; since she decided she had enough with their constant lies.

“ _Your biggest flaw, Lucy, is that you always trust the wrong people. And one day, you’re going to regret that.”_

Each time their paths crossed, he would always warn her not to trust them, that they were nothing but horrible people. _They_ being Rittenhouse. How horrible exactly – neither knew the full extent of Rittenhouse’s misdeeds.

However, how could Lucy take Flynn’s word for it when he was branded as a time-travelling terrorist that killed historical figures in cold blood? Hell, he even threatened to kill her on multiple occasions.

But when days suddenly turned into years, Lucy finally understood that Flynn was right all along.

The professor realized that Mason Industries and Agent Christopher had no intentions on keeping their promise to her in regards to restoring things to the _proper_ timeline. Lucy’s sister would be forever erased from existence while she’d remain as Rittenhouse’s puppet princess.

" _Rittenhouse isn't a choice. It's blood."_

There was no way in hell that she was going to continue working for Mason Industries, a company infiltrated with countless Rittenhouse members, some of them being her own family. She wasn't going to allow herself to be subjugated to their lies and empty promises any more. She’d rather help assassinate historical figures rather than do their biddings. The rest of the team felt the same.

Lucy had confided in Rufus about her plan to just drop everything and run. The pilot had initially thought her to be insane, saying that they would be caught, no matter where in time they hid. Past or future, Rittenhouse would be there. Waiting.

“We’re not going to hide in the past nor are we going to hide in the future,” Lucy stated, her voice strong, almost hopeful; she almost believed it herself. “We take the Lifeboat and time travel a few hours ahead, throwing them off.”

“Woah, woah! Hold on. Say what?” Rufus asked, a bit dumbfounded before chuckling, “Well, technically, that’s still going to the future, albeit a few hour or so.”

That earned him a light punch on the arm. After some effortless persuading, Rufus agreed to join her, bringing Jiya along. In doing so, Mason Industries no longer had an engineer that was able to read energy signals or pilot the time machine. And besides, Rufus wasn’t about to leave the woman he loved in the hands of some crazy, old, white folks.  

As opposed to Rufus, Wyatt was all down for it. He successfully managed to give Rittenhouse the middle finger by stealing the Lifeboat and in doing so, altering the timeline by rescuing his wife. The soldier got want he wanted out of being their pawn and was done risking his life.

So, in the dead of night, they broke into Mason Industries and stole the Lifeboat. As Lucy instructed, Rufus piloted them only a few hours ahead to the outskirts of Manhattan, New York. It should buy them enough time to get away and go into hiding.

They took only the basic necessities; food, water, toiletries and extra clothing. The team agreed if they were truly going to run away from Rittenhouse, they must abandon their identities and hopefully start a new life. That meant going by new names too.

The five of them lived together in a shabby apartment out in the projects for the first few months. They never stayed in one place for long, always constantly shaking their trail. A few months became a month and later became a few weeks, tops. Wyatt told them to leave their cell phones behind, opting to always use disposables or burner cells. That way, Rittenhouse or anyone else, couldn’t track them. Standard military tactic.

Staying under the radar had gotten harder when Wyatt’s supposedly dead wife informed them that she was pregnant. With Jessica’s newfound condition, it would be difficult to move from place to place. They all came to an agreement that Wyatt and Jessica will no longer run with them. They will still try to hide from Rittenhouse but if they are caught, they will blame nobody but themselves.

And they fully understood that there’s a high chance of them being executed on sight because of what they all did.

With a teary goodbye, Lucy, Rufus and Jiya left the couple behind.

That was two years after they ran away. On their fourth year, Rufus decided he had enough.

“I want to start a life with Jiya, Lucy. With a house, kids, and all that stuff. I know all of that is impossible with damn Rittenhouse constantly hounding our asses but I’m just so tired of running. So, please. Stay with us.”

As much she wanted to stay, Lucy wasn’t done running. In fact, she believed she’d never be done running. Not now, not ever. Not until her beloved sister was safe and in her arms. So, with a bittersweet smile, she gave her best regards to the pilots and continued hiding.

The following years became a blur to her and next thing she knew, ten years had gone by. Lucy would sometimes catch her reflection and noticed that she had spritz of greying hair scattered about in her chestnut hair. Gone was the youthful and optimistic historian professor.

Lucy often wondered what happened to the team. Did they aged like she did? They used to make phone calls as promised, but it became too difficult since they were all using burner cells. Lucy would sometimes visit Rufus and Jiya but even her frequent visits were dangerous to all of them.  

There were even times where Lucy’s mind wandered to Garcia Flynn. _The time bandit_ , he fondly called himself. What had become of him? Were they still hunting them? Or did he successfully change and create a new timeline where his family’s alive?

While Lucy highly disapproved of his method of changing the future –aka murdering people– she really did have some shred of concern for the man. He, of all people, deserved a bit of happiness, especially the hell he’s been through just to see his wife and daughter one last time.

Lost in thought, Lucy turned a corner when she collided with a solid body and felt hot liquid scald her through her jeans. Her first instinct was to mutter an apology and run away; as safety precaution, just in case the person turned out to be a member of Rittenhouse.

But old habits die hard, and it’s not in her nature to be that rude.

“Oh my god, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry,” Lucy apologized profusely. She hastily took out a bunch of napkins from her purse and handed it over to the victim without looking up.

A bunch of excuses tumbled out of her mouth, trying to find a reasonable explanation for her spacing out.

“It’s okay, no harm done, ma’am,” an accented voice assured. “I’m more concerned if you’re alright?”

Lucy’s heart thudded erratically in her chest at the sound of the man’s voice. That accent, that use of honorific, that deep brogue in his voice.

_No, no, no, it can’t be…_

She slowly raised her head only to see Garcia _goddamn_ Flynn regarding her with concern. The red flags were waving frantically in her head, telling her to run, but her body refused to cooperate.

However, this Flynn seemed… off. Different. No matter what time period they were in, no matter what disguise she donned, Flynn would be able to make her out in the crowd with ease. But Lucy wasn’t wearing a disguise. Not at this moment. That should’ve been easy to identify her. Yet, the time bandit was not giving any indication that he recognized her, let alone know her.

Then, it hit her; this is a younger version of Flynn, before his family got murdered in his very eyes and travelled to the past. Gone were the heavy eye bags that were always ever constant. His charcoaled eyes showed no signs of a haunted past, his posture confident instead of hiding the shell of a broken man. His black, slick hair seemed to have fewer grey hairs, if none at all. He actually looked rather healthy.

“Ma’am?” Flynn called out to her again, slightly concerned by her sudden silence.

Lucy blinked erratically, shaking her head before smiling up at Flynn. “Yes?”

He gestured to her coffee-stained jeans. “I asked if you’re okay, but it seems to me you are,” he teased lightly.

“Oh, yes! Pftt, I’m fine! Nothing but soap and water can’t fix,” Lucy forcefully laughed, mentally cringing on how pathetic she sounded. “But I’m more concerned about your dress shirt. It looks expensive.”

She couldn’t care less about his damn shirt. The fight or flight instinct was kicking in and she would give nearly anything to be away from here – away from _him_. But the fact this man in front of her was indeed Garcia Flynn, albeit a younger version of him. Which wasn’t right. He was supposed to older than her, born the seventies. But taking in his features made him to be no older than her, perhaps even the same age.  

He looked down at his stomach, the brown contrasting his white shirt before looking back up at the woman before him. Flynn nodded, a familiar, playful smile on his lips. “It is indeed.”

She could offer to pay for dry cleanings and get it over with. Just pay him and go and hope to never see him again. However, living minimalistic and frugally, she tend not to carry much cash on hand. The rest of the money she earned over the decade was saved in case of emergencies where Rittenhouse was involved. But withdrawing a fifty for dry cleaning wouldn’t hurt anyone.

“Again, I’m really sorry about what happen. If you have the time with me to go to a bank right now, I can withdraw money to pay for your dry cleaning.”

Flynn looked momentarily surprised by her offer, and in fairness, so was Lucy, but he surprised her even more when he responded, “How about you give me your number instead, and you can repay me by accompanying me to dinner this weekend?”

 _Ever the suave and charismatic man_ , Lucy thought with a begrudging smile. But despite his confident bravado, the brunette can see a slight worry at the prospect of being rejected in his dark eyes. The tilted head and peering up at her, like a cat.

Every thought is telling her to run, that by agreeing is literally asking for trouble. This was Garcia fucking Flynn; a man who killed, or rather, about to kill countless people in the near future.

But as she looked up into Flynn’s hesitant eyes, she found herself saying, “Sure, I’d love to.”

If Wyatt were here, he would slap her for her stupidity, she was sure of it. “What were you _thinking,_ saying yes to Flynn, Lucy? That man is a _murderer_!”

And Rufus would scold the living shit out of her. “Oh, hell no. Hell no! Tell me you did not just agree to go out on a damn _date_ with Flynn. A date, Lucy! With Flynn! What’s wrong with you?”

But they weren’t here now. And probably will never be. She’s all alone and got to deal with problems her own way. Even if that problem is meeting a future terrorist.

Flynn flashed her a toothy grin – one she knew all too well. He stuck out his hand. 

“Name’s Garcia Flynn.”

_Oh, trust me, I know._

While she was idiotic at times, she knew better than to give her real name to the man who will hunt her down in the future. Lucy took his large hand in her much smaller and slender one.

“Lorena. Lorena Pestuci.” 


End file.
